“Looks like you mashed some poor fellas dog, sarge”

I fell in love with Blizzard the first time I saw the Starcraft introduction movie. It perfectly encapsulated the world that they had crafted. The marines weren’t just sprites, they had character!

When we initially started thinking about how to present the world of BEAUTIFUL DESOLATION we wanted to do a film style trailer. This trailer needed to show the fantastic developments The Penrose brought, as well as the journey into a post apocalyptic future. We needed to create a variety of visceral scenes that told the back story to BEAUTIFUL DESOLATION.

The first step was creating a script that would dictate how best to tell this tale in a few short minutes. Once we had the script in place, I put together a very quick pre-visualization animatic. This allowed us to adjust and rework the timing before the detailing and rendering process was undertaken.

We took extra time to add in detail that may not be the focal point, but without these, the scenes wouldn’t have been as well rounded as they needed. This included different operating systems and applications on the varied monitors – also note the tiny logos of each competing corporation.

80’s logo ideasComputer interfaces for background displays

Post apocalyptic Africa was achieved using matte paintings. This technique involves a painted image that is projected over 3D geometry, allowing movement through a seemingly still painting.

The final video is the result of hours of work and shows the quality we’ll be showcasing in BEAUTIFUL DESOLATION.